David Cone Talks Steroids in "The Yankee Years"

I am seriously beginning to wonder whether Joe Torre has ever read the book that has his name on it. In the book, Joe claims that he was unaware of the fact that some of his players were juicing. The Daily News points out the following statements from David Cone:

But in “The Yankee Years,” David Cone said the players had a good idea about who was juicing. There was speculation about players who worked closely with Brian McNamee, the trainer who told the Mitchell Commission, Congress and federal investigators that Roger Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone and that Andy Pettitte used HGH.
According to the authors, players often joked about teammates who worked out with McNamee when he served as an assistant strength coach for the Yankees in 2000-2001, especially players who grew dramatically stronger, bigger and leaner in a short period of time. “He’s on Mac’s program,” was the joke, or “He’s on The Program.”

I honestly hate the entire steroids storyline, as I feel like so many players were doing it that it seems silly to punish or denounce those who were caught. The idea that the Yankees had more juicers than anyone else seems poorly conceived and mostly unsupported. As Joe himself says, investigations such as the Mitchell Report that focus on New York trainers are bound to expose New York culprits.  That being said, Joe clearly did not read this portion of the book or did not understand its implications. The manager is supposed to have a feel for his clubhouse, and Joe was famous for excelling in that regard. If the players knew who was juicing, Joe should have had some idea that something fishy was going on. His denial therefore suggests one of three things: he is lying and knew all along that his clubhouse was tainted, he was willfully blind and chose not to address an issue that he might have sensed brewing, or he did not notice the murmurs at all. The first choice makes him a liar, and the last two make him a bad manager. Either way, Joe comes out looking bad and possibly complicit in allowing steroid use to run rampant in his clubhouse.

Next time, Joe, read the book before it is published. It might save you some trouble.

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